Bassist Charlie Haden was already an avant-garde titan through his role in Ornette Coleman's empire-rattling '60s quartet, an avatar for politically-committed jazz through his Liberation Music Orchestra, and a first-call s... more &raquotar thanks to associations with Keith Jarrett, Pat Metheny, and countless other pathfinders. But Haden was, and is, an omnivorous listener and fan with an openly romantic vein, and this sophomore project for his own mainstream quartet celebrates his love of classic pop and film noir. Opening with the Warner Bros. fanfare that introduced John Huston's classic 1941 realization of The Maltese Falcon, this programmatic gem shifts from '40s covers to sympathetic originals evoking the smoky demimonde of noir classics, and underlined by their allusive titles ("Hello My Lovely," "Lady in the Lake," and "The Long Goodbye" are the obvious Chandlerian connections). Interpolating luminous vocal recordings from the '40s by Jo Stafford (the title song), Jeri Southern, and Billie Holiday, Haunted Heart is cinematic in the best sense, its elegant acoustic jazz looking affectionately back across the decades, yet still in the moment emotionally. --Sam Sutherland&laquo less

Synopsis

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Bassist Charlie Haden was already an avant-garde titan through his role in Ornette Coleman's empire-rattling '60s quartet, an avatar for politically-committed jazz through his Liberation Music Orchestra, and a first-call star thanks to associations with Keith Jarrett, Pat Metheny, and countless other pathfinders. But Haden was, and is, an omnivorous listener and fan with an openly romantic vein, and this sophomore project for his own mainstream quartet celebrates his love of classic pop and film noir. Opening with the Warner Bros. fanfare that introduced John Huston's classic 1941 realization of The Maltese Falcon, this programmatic gem shifts from '40s covers to sympathetic originals evoking the smoky demimonde of noir classics, and underlined by their allusive titles ("Hello My Lovely," "Lady in the Lake," and "The Long Goodbye" are the obvious Chandlerian connections). Interpolating luminous vocal recordings from the '40s by Jo Stafford (the title song), Jeri Southern, and Billie Holiday, Haunted Heart is cinematic in the best sense, its elegant acoustic jazz looking affectionately back across the decades, yet still in the moment emotionally. --Sam Sutherland

CD Reviews

Get This One

Marc D. Thomas | Moab, UT United States | 04/28/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When it comes to Charlie Haden & Quartet West, this is the one album to get. It seemlessly integrates the achingly beautiful vocal cuts from Jo Stafford, Jeri Southern, & Billie Holiday with the Quartet's own lyrical contributions. If you're looking for a jazz recording that's "smooth" without being boring, evocative, & melodically marvelous, get this one. And then track down vocal recordings by Jo Stafford, who sings "Haunted Heart" on this CD and was probably the greatest female American "pop" singer ever."

Quartet West 's best recording

JEAN-MARIE JUIF | BESANCON France | 09/23/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Charlie Haden's Quartet West is a great group : Alan Broadbent on piano,Ernie Watts on tenor,and Larance Marable on drums.This recording is a tribute to the musicazl scene and the movies of the fourties, and surely the quartet's best effort.Larance Marable,a descendant of Fats Marable,shines again behind his drums,after a long period of drug addiction;Ernie Watts shows that he is a prodigious saxophonist,always underrated;Alan Broadbent is one of today's greatest pianists,as good in solo than backing someone (I had the opportunity of seeing him with singer Mark Murphy some two years ago).This session pays tributes to great musicians of the history of jazz.Now about the tunes: the introduction is the 1937 Warner Bros.fanfare,and the intro of the "maltese falcon" soundtrack."hello my lovely" is a beautiful Haden's tune."haunted heart" is a Dietz/Schwartz tune,followed by Jo Stafford's 1947 interpretation with Paul Weston's orchestra;"dance of the infidels" is a Bud Powell tune;"the long goodbye" is by Broadbent;"moonlight serenade",of course, is Glenn Miller's absolute masterpiece,one of the greatest tunes of the century,and you must agree with this,even if you don't like Miller."Lennie's pennies' is one of the most celebrated tunes by Lennie Tristano;"every time we say goodbye" is the marvelous Cole Porter song,one of Coltrane's favorites,followed here by Jeri Southern's great singing."segment" is Bird's,"the bad and the beautiful" is a David Raskin's tune (you know,the guy who wrote "Laura" for the unforgettable movie with Gene Tierney),and finally,the haunting "deep song",followed by Billie Holiday's 1947 version,which is one of the saddest and most beautiful recordings she's ever made.The great idea Charlie Haden had,doing this session, is to couple his quartet versions with the original versions of the Stafford,Southern and Holiday tunes.For those who don't know Billie's "deep song" (it figures in her Decca sides), it will surely be a shock.This song is as important in his carreer than "god bless the child" or "good morning heartache",even if she only recorded it once.Far from the Liberation Music Orchestra,Charlie Haden's Quartet West did a marvelous album in October 1991.This was recorded in the South of France,in Sète,Georges Brassens' hometown."

Something borrowed, something noir

Gavin Wilson | 05/12/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"During the 80s and 90s, Charlie Haden and former colleague Keith Jarrett devoted much of their output to creating new versions of old tunes. While Jarrett's trio delved into the back-catalogue to shed new light on old standards, Haden led a quartet which re-worked rarer but no less beautiful tracks. And Haden used a gimmick: tacking on the original (usually transcribed from an LP in Haden's own cherished collection) after Quartet West's version.For me, 'Haunted Heart' is a dry run for its successor, 'Always Say Goodbye'. The critics at the time said that, great though the latter album was, Haden couldn't use the gimmick too often. I have no idea whether he read those reviews, but sadly we haven't heard those old recordings in any subsequent Quartet West CD.As usual, there are many beautiful pieces here. Two of them are the compositions by pianist Alan Broadbent. (Don't worry -- he changed his specs by the time the band needed a new photograph for 'Now is the Hour'!) I wish Haden himself had contributed more tunes to this album -- when he sets his mind to it, he can write just as well as say, Pat Metheny.You cannot go wrong by acquiring this album. Nearly all the Quartet West albums are outstanding. The only one to be slightly wary of is the most recent, 'The Art of the Song'."

Instant atmosphere

Mary E Davies | CA | 12/06/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Is this a CD or a movie? Put it on and close your eyes, and you'll wonder, because you can see a whole story in your mind, perhaps by Dashiell Hammett: smoky, bluesy, achingly regretful, with a few sweet sad vocals -- fabulous rainy-afternoon-by-the-fire stuff. Or perhaps New Years Eve for two."